Our Team
Sara Stanich, MBA, CFP®, CDFA®, CPWA®
Founder
Sara founded Cultivating Wealth in 2016 after nearly 10 years in the industry. She has extensive experience working with creative professionals, entrepreneurs, and persons in the divorce process.
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Financial Planning is a second career for Sara, who also spent over 10 years in marketing roles, during which time she completed her MBA at the Stern School of Business at New York University.
Sara recently relocated from Brooklyn Heights to Montauk and is enjoying the change of pace (and some time at the beach!). When Sara isn’t working, you can find her in her vegetable garden, reading, or chasing down her three kids.
Liz Sylvan, CFP®, CPWA®
Senior Financial Advisor
Liz Sylvan, CFP®, CDFA® is a Senior Financial Advisor at Cultivating Wealth. Liz works with clients in the NYC area and beyond to help them move confidently toward their financial and life goals.
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Liz provides guidance in cash flow optimization, tax planning, retirement planning, investments, estate planning and education funding. She also has a special expertise in helping clients prepare for the purchase or sale of a home or investment property. In addition to general financial planning, as a Certified Divorce Financial Analyst, she helps divorcing individuals and couples make informed financial decisions.
Prior to her career in finance, Liz spent a decade in the non-profit sector, helping organizations to fund their missions through individual and institutional giving.
Liz received her Certificate in Financial Planning from Northwestern University and her BA from Wesleyan University.
When Liz isn’t working, she enjoys traveling, exploring New York City on her bike, and spending time with her husband and two kids.
Caroline Young, CFP®
Financial Advisor
Caroline Young is a Financial Advisor at Cultivating Wealth and CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER® practitioner. She has a background in architecture, operations and business management.
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Caroline brings a unique perspective to financial planning, rooted in her previous career as an architect and construction manager. Her transition to personal finance was born out of a desire to help individuals build a solid foundation for their lives. After discovering her passion for financial education while developing her former firm’s retirement and benefits programs, she earned her Certified Financial Planner™ (CFP®) designation and has been a dedicated advisor at Cultivating Wealth for several years.
As a CFP® professional, Caroline helps clients navigate the complexities of wealth management by synthesizing objective technical data with their personal goals. Her work focuses on building personalized, comprehensive strategies that integrate tax planning, investment management, and risk mitigation.
Beyond her technical training, Caroline brings experience to local families. Having raised children who moved through the complex New York City school system, she understands not only the local educational landscape but also the college planning process.
Hana Walton
Paraplanner
Hana is a paraplanner at Cultivating Wealth, where she provides support in developing customized financial plans, preparing detailed analyses, and assisting with investment strategies.
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Hana spent over a decade as a public school music teacher in New York. In that role, she found herself well prepared to teach her students how to play the string instruments of the orchestra, but entirely unprepared to navigate the k-12 403(b) system. Learning about the complexities of 403(b) plans and making sound investment decisions within them sparked a passion for educating other teachers on these topics, and led to her interest in financial planning. She is excited to support the team at Cultivating Wealth in empowering clients to plan and achieve their goals.
Hana received her Certificate in Financial Planning from Bryant University. She also holds a MA in Music Education from Teachers College, Columbia University and BM in Violin Performance from New York University. Outside of work, she continues to play the violin for fun and enjoys camping and hiking in the woods of the Northeast. She lives in mid-coast Maine.
